Systems, Apparatuses and Methods for Changing Symbols in Gaming Systems

ABSTRACT

Symbols are randomly arranged on a gaming machine. The random arrangement represents initial states of the symbols for purposes of applying a cellular automata rule. The cellular automata rule is applied to the symbols such that each of the symbols to a subsequent state independently of a value of the symbols. The subsequent state of each symbol may be based at least on the initial state of each symbol and the initial state of another of the symbols. A payout condition may be evaluated based on the subsequent states of the symbols.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/231,949, filed on Aug. 6, 2009, to which priority is claimedpursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e) and which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates in general to games, and more particularly tosystems, apparatuses and methods for changing symbols in gamingactivities.

BACKGROUND

Many gaming activities, such as slot machine games, involve mechanicalor electronic/virtual reel strips having various symbols associatedtherewith. A paytable is typically provided, which notifies the playerof the payout that will be provided when a consecutive number ofparticular symbols are presented during play. For example, the paytablemay indicated that a payout of six credits will be awarded if threeconsecutive cherry symbols appear along a pre-established payline;twenty credits will be awarded if three consecutive plum symbols appearalong a pre-established payline; and so forth. In order for the playerto receive a payout, the reels are “spun” (whether mechanically orotherwise randomly selected in an electronic system having a videodisplay), and the symbol combinations presented on established paylinesare compared to the possible winning combinations in the paytable. Theplayer typically receives payouts for matching symbol combinationspresented on established paylines, some of which correspond topredetermined symbol combinations and accompanying payout criteria in apaytable.

Thus, manners of presenting winning payouts and providing correspondingpayouts are often based on whether matching symbols fall on anestablished payline. Other manners are also known, such as a scatterpay, which is awarded when some minimum number of a certain symboloccurs during game play. For example, if three star symbols arepresented in any of the display segments in response to a reel spin, theplayer may receive a payout.

In these and other payout methodologies, the end of the gaming eventthat may produce a payout typically ends once the symbols have beenpresented. For example, payout analysis occurs after the presentation ofthe requisite number of symbols for a scatter pay, or the after theoccurrence of a predetermined symbol combination on a payline. Thus, theanticipation of payout awards ends upon the initial placement of symbolsin a gaming grid such as a multi-reel (video or mechanical) slot game.

It is desirable to provide captivating gaming opportunities for gameplayers to maintain player interest, particularly where there aremultiple chances of winning and/or increasing payout awards. Infurtherance of the need to attract participants to particular gamingmachines, there is a continuing need to further the excitement andanticipation in the participation of gaming activities. The presentinvention fulfills these and other needs, and offers advantages overprior art gaming approaches.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to systems, apparatuses and methods forchanging symbols in gaming activities, such as slot games or other gamesinvolving symbol combinations in which payouts may be awarded. In oneembodiment, methods, systems, apparatuses, and/or computer readablemedia causes a random arrangement of symbols of a gaming machine. Therandom arrangement represents a initial state of the symbols forpurposes of applying a cellular automata rule. The cellular automatarule is applied to the symbols, such that the cellular automata rulechanges the symbols to at least one subsequent state independently of avalue of the symbols. A payout condition is evaluated based on thesubsequent state of the symbols, and a payout is conditionally providedbased on the payout condition.

In one configuration, the cellular automata rule is deterministic. Inanother configuration, the states of the symbols include binary states.In such a case, the cellular automata rule may changes each of thesymbols to the subsequent state based on a) the initial state of eachsymbol and b) the initial state of at least one neighboring symbol.Further in such a case, the binary states may include alive states anddead states, and in the initial state, particular symbols are set to thealive state and the cellular automata rule changes each of the symbolsto the subsequent state as follows: a) if the symbol is currently in thealive state and a first number range of neighboring symbols are in thealive state, the symbol remains in the alive state, otherwise the symbolchanges to the dead state; and b) if the symbol is currently in the deadstate and a second number range of neighboring symbols are in the alivestate, the symbol changes to the alive state, otherwise the symbolremains in the dead state. In configurations that utilize binary states,evaluating the payout condition may involve changing to a wild symbolany symbols in the subsequent states that correspond to a selected oneof the binary states and/or randomly generating a new symbol to replaceany symbols in the subsequent states that correspond to a selected oneof the binary states.

In other arrangements, the cellular automata rule may change each of thesymbols to the subsequent state based on a) the initial state of eachsymbol and b) the initial state of each symbol all neighboring symbols.In another arrangement, the subsequent state may include a plurality ofsequentially evaluated states. In such a case the cellular automata rulecauses the symbols to change respective state for each of the time stepsbased on a) a previous state of each symbol and b) a previous state ofanother of the symbols. Further in such an arrangement, the sequentiallyevaluated states may be evaluated until at least one of the followingoccurs: a) all of the symbols are at a same state; and b) an infinitelyrepeating sequence of states is detected for at least a portion of thesymbols.

In another embodiment of the invention, methods, systems, apparatuses,and/or computer readable media cause a random arrangement of symbols tobe rendered via a gaming apparatus. At a first time step, an activestate is assigned to a subset of the symbols and an inactive state isassigned to others of the symbols. For each of a plurality of additionaltime steps, the following is performed for each symbol: a) determiningwhether to set the symbol to the active or inactive state for theadditional time step via a rule that is based on 1) the state of thesymbol at a previous time step, and 2) the state of neighbors of thesymbol at the previous time step; b) determining whether the collectivestates of the symbols results in a terminating condition; and c) if theterminating condition is detected, ceasing to apply the rule. A payoutevaluation is performed based on the states of the symbols for at leastone of the first and additional time steps.

In one configuration, performing the payout evaluation may involvechanging to a wild symbol any symbols in the active state and/orgenerating a new symbol to replace any symbols in the active state. Inanother configuration, the terminating condition may include one or moreof a) determining that all of the symbols are at the inactive state; andb) detecting an infinitely repeating sequence of states for at least aportion of the symbols and a portion of the time steps. In yet anotherconfiguration, the active state may be assigned to a subset of thesymbols based on a value of the symbols. In some configurations, therule may include a non-random, cellular automata rule.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Representative embodiments are described in connection with thefollowing diagrams.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating cellular automata rulesaccording to a representative embodiment;

FIG. 1B illustrates a representative example of a gaming reel set;

FIG. 2A illustrates a subsequent state of the representative reel setshown in FIG. 1B;

FIG. 2B illustrates a representative variation where the reel symbolsthat correspond to CA sites in the alive state are re-spun while reelsymbols with a corresponding dead CA remain unchanged;

FIG. 3A illustrates a representative variation where the reel symbols inthe alive state are collapsed to cause affiliated symbols to fall intotheir place while reel symbols with a corresponding dead CA state remainunchanged;

FIG. 3B illustrates a representative variation where the reel symbolsthat correspond to CA sites in the alive state are evaluated as a subsetof the original symbol set;

FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate another representative variation in accordancewith an embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a representative example of arule-based symbol generation;

FIG. 6 illustrates a representative embodiment where ignited symbols arespread out enough such that the CA sites die out in only two time steps;

FIG. 7 illustrates another example where predetermined symbols areinitially presented in different locations to trigger the bonus;

FIGS. 8-9 illustrate another example where one or more predeterminedsymbols are initially presented in different locations to trigger thebonus;

FIGS. 10A-10B illustrate additional representative embodimentsimplementing other CA rule sets;

FIG. 11 illustrates a representative embodiment of a casino-style gamingdevice in which the principles described herein may be applied;

FIG. 12 illustrates representative computing system capable of carryingout operations in accordance with the invention; and

FIGS. 13 and 14 are flowcharts illustrating procedures according toexample embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of various exemplary embodiments, referenceis made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and inwhich is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which theinvention may be practiced. It is to be understood that otherembodiments may be utilized, as structural and operational changes maybe made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

As indicated above, some gaming payouts are provided when mechanical orvideo reels are “spun,” and the presented symbol combinations occurringon established paylines are compared to possible winning combinations ina paytable. The player receives payouts for any presented symbolcombinations on the established paylines that match the payout criteriain the standard paytable. Once this occurs, the next gaming activityusing additional wagers is initiated. In such systems, the symbolcombinations that are presented and used to determine winning payoutsare determined through the use of random number generators. The term“symbol” as used herein may refer to any indicia of conventionalsignificance, including shapes, colors, textures, sounds, and any otherobject that may be rendered to the user for determining a payout basedon patterns/arrangements of the objects.

Generally, the present disclosure relates to systems, apparatuses andmethods for providing at least some symbol combinations that are drivenby a rule set or sets, which may or may not originate in a first symbolcombination that was generated randomly. The following describes variousembodiments of the present invention, which utilizes one or moreCellular Automata-type rule sets to change gaming symbols such as usedin slot machines and similar gaming devices involving symbolcombinations.

Cellular automata (CA), as the term is used herein, refers tomathematical systems which can be used to describe many types ofinteractions. They may include a regularly ordered lattice of discretesites, each of which has a state taken from a finite set. The state ofeach site in the lattice evolves over time according to a set of rules.These rules at least take into account the current state of the sitebeing analyzed along with the current state of at least one other sitein the lattice/grid in order to determine the next state of the analyzedsite. For example, in particular examples described below, the CA rulestake into account the current state of the site as well as the states ofother neighboring sites.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, such principles may beapplied to gaming devices and systems, such as slot machines and othergaming devices. While any CA rule set can be utilized for thesepurposes, particular examples of rules are set forth below to facilitatean understanding of aspects of the invention. In FIG. 1A, a blockdiagram includes a grid 100 that illustrates CA rules according to oneembodiment of the invention. The illustrated grid 100 is part of atwo-dimensional (2-D) rectangular grid of M×N rectangular elements. Thegrid 100 includes nine elements 101-109, which may be the entire grid,or merely representative elements of a larger grid.

It will be appreciated that the rectangular grid configuration of FIG.1A is presented for purposes of example, and not of limitation. Theconcepts discussed below regarding the grid 100 may be equallyapplicable to geometric constructs having fewer or greater dimensions,such as lines, cubes, spheres, etc. Similarly, the grid shapes and/orelements need not be rectangular. The CA concepts discussed below may beapplicable to other grid-type constructs, including honeycomb/hexagons,graphs, trees, radial grids, brick patterns, etc.

In the illustrated example, each grid site/element 101-109 may take onone of two states, which in this case are designated as “alive” or“dead,” although other terminology may be used to designate analogousbinary states, e.g., active/inactive, on/off, white/black, one/zero,etc. It should also be noted that the grid elements 101-109 each includesymbols that utilized for particular gaming purposes, e.g., fordetermining payouts based on matching a pattern of symbols. Each symbolmay be considered to have a value represented by the shape, color,indicia, or and/or other human perceivable feature of the symbol thatdistinguishes it from other symbols. In the present disclosure, the term“symbol” and “symbol value” may be used interchangeably to indicate thisaspect of the symbol. This may be distinguished from the state of theelement in which the symbol is shown, which may also be considered astate associated with the symbol itself. Thus, the terms “symbol state,”“state of the symbol,” etc., generally refer to a CA state associatedwith the current location of the symbol, and may be determinedindependently/separately from the symbol value at that location.

The state of each element 101-109 may change over time, and may beevaluated for each of a plurality of time steps. The initial state ofeach element may be chosen randomly or may be set using a predeterminedformula. At each time step, the state of a particular element is updatedbased upon an equation that takes into account its own current state aswell as the current states of one or more of its neighbors. Thisrecognition of the state of neighboring elements/cells (at least fromthe viewpoint of cell 105) is indicated by arrows overlaid on the grid100.

In one example, the rules for determining state at element 105 may beexpressed as follows: 1) if the cell 105 is currently alive, and somenumber of its neighbors are also alive (exactly two or three neighborsin the example of FIG. 1A), the cell 105 remains alive for the next timestep; 2) if the cell 105 is currently dead, and some number of itsneighbors are alive (exactly two neighbors in the example of FIG. 1A,although in other embodiments exactly three neighbors have been used),it will come to life for the next time step; and 3) all other situationswill render the cell 105 dead for the next time step. This latter caseincludes situations where more than three neighboring cells are alive.These same rules may also be applied to all the other cells 101-104,106-109 during each time step.

Border cells may have additional/different rules. For example, thecondition 1) above may be modified for corner cells to read “if a cellis currently alive, and exactly one or two of its neighbors are alsoalive, the cell remains alive for the next time step.” This reflectsthat the corner cell has three neighbors, as opposed to eight for aninterior cell, and is therefore “blocked” in by live neighbors morequickly than is an interior cell.

Similar modifications may be made to edge cells, although particularcorner/edge rules are not detailed for purposes of the presentdiscussion. In other cases, the edges of the grid may be considered tobe “wrapped around.” For example, if cells 101-109 form the entire grid,cells 101, 104, and 107 may be modeled as sharing an edge with cells103, 106, 109, and cells 101-103 may be modeled as sharing an edge withcells 107-109.

It should be noted that, while the states may initially be assigned to aparticular symbol based on the value of the symbol, the CA rules maysubsequently operate independently of the values of the symbols. In someembodiments, the CA rules may operate purely on the states of thecells/sites containing the symbols without consideration of the valuesof the symbols contained in the cells. The states may be used at somelater point to affect the symbols, e.g., changing symbols values todetermine a potential payout, but in these cases the symbol valuesthemselves do not affect CA states associated with the symbol locations.

In some embodiments however, the CA rules may take into account thevalue of the symbols as part of the rules. For example, some CA rulesmay be considered to be based on a scarcity of resources model. In sucha case, some neighboring cells need to be alive to provide conditionsthat will bring a dead cell to life, but too many alive cells in onearea depletes local resources. Thus, alive cells may go to the deadstate of there are too many neighbors that are also alive. In thiscontext, the symbol values may be used to designate areas of richer orpoorer resources, such that cells can enter alive or dead states usingdifferent criteria than in other symbol locations.

Applying these rules can cause complex interactions when applied tolattices of sufficient size and initial state. A system utilizing theseCA rules may evolve to one of any number of states. For example, onepossible outcome is that the CA system will cause the lattice sites allto reach the dead state. Another possible outcome is that the CA systemwill cause the lattice sites to reach a periodic cycle in which thestates will repeat themselves in an infinite loop. Still anotherpossible outcome is that the CA will cause the lattice sites to reach astate of unpredictable and chaotic state changes. Yet another possibleoutcome is that the CA will cause the lattice sites to create complexand sometimes long lived structures.

A single set of CA rules can generate each of the various outcome typeswhen acting on different state input. In accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention, outcome-based rules may be applied to gamingdevices such as slot machines, whereby the player does not know what toexpect when the CA system begins evolving. Such rule-based evolutionprovides payout opportunities that may continue for short durations orlong durations.

Current gaming systems (e.g., slot machine concepts) involve gamingevents that generate results on randomness, such as an algorithmutilizing a random number generator. This may be enhanced through theuse of gaming event outcomes that are dependent on one or more previousstates of the system. Among other things, the present embodiments mayinvolve enhancing player anticipation and excitement by applying rulesthat cause presented symbols to change states based on one or more priorstates of one or more symbols. The changing states present new symbolcombinations/patterns by which payout opportunities can be provided.

In some embodiments of the invention, application of such rule sets to aslot machine grid involve binary rule sets (alive/dead, on/off, etc.)though this should not be considered a limiting factor. Rule sets in thepresent embodiments may utilize any number of possible site states. Forexample, state of a given site could be represented as a discrete orcontinuous numerical value, or other non-numerical values (e.g.,red/green/blue, cold/cool/warm/hot, etc.). This CA rules may be appliedto grids of various sizes, or dynamically varying sizes. The CA rulesmay be symmetric (e.g., equally applied regardless of the relativelocation of neighboring cells) or asymmetric (e.g., calculateddifferently depending on relative location/direction of neighboringcells).

In one embodiment of the invention, CA rules may be applied to slotmachines in such a way that CA affects a state of each reel position ina reel set, though this should not be considered a limiting factor. Inother embodiments, a CA rule set may be applied to a detached lattice(e.g., separate from the gaming symbols/reels) to generate events whichin turn affect the game play. A representative example of a gaming reelset 120 is shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1B according to an exampleembodiment of the invention. Each reel symbol in the reel set 120 maycorrespond to a site in a 3×5 CA lattice with binary state values (e.g.,alive/dead). When the reels have been evaluated, an initial state forthe reels set 120 is evaluated.

This initial evaluation may designate some set of the symbol locationsas being alive and dead for the purposes of further CA evaluation. Forexample, certain symbols or symbol locations may be designated as aliveeither through the currently displayed symbol, random selection or someother selection criteria. In such a case, all other symbol locations maybe designated as being dead. For purposes of the following discussion,the state of reel set 120 may be considered being in an initial state,with symbol locations 121-124 being considered as “alive” at the initialstate, and all others as “dead.”

After this initial evaluation, the CA applies one time step to thelattice 120, changing the states of the symbol locations (which may bemodeled as corresponding to CA sites) according to the CA rules and theinitial states. One example of the next state of the reel set 120according to an embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 2A. Asindicated by the dark outline in this example, symbol locations 201-204are each in the alive state at this time due to having been touching(either at a side or a corner) with exactly two previously alivelocations 121-124 at the previous time step. At this time step, the reelsymbols 201-204 that correspond to the alive state have become wild,while reel symbols with a corresponding dead CA state return to thesymbol that resulted from the initial state (which in this examplecauses no change to symbols in locations 121-124). After the all thereel symbols are evaluated in response to the first time step, payoutsmay be made based on the reel states shown in FIG. 2A. The CA may thenapply another time step to the lattice, and if any CA sites in exist inthe alive state, a re-evaluation of symbols and subsequent payout mayoccur as before. Otherwise, if no CA sites exist in the alive state, theevaluation ends.

In other variations, an initial state is determined as before, whereinthe symbol locations may be determined as alive or dead according to theCA rules and the initial site states as seen in the lattice 120 of FIG.1A. The CA then applies at least one time step to the lattice 120,changing the states of the CA sites in accordance with the variationsdescribed below. In all of these variations, the CA criteria results inlocations 201-204 being in the alive state as was described in relationto FIG. 2A, although the resulting application of live states to thegaming symbols may vary. One variation is shown in FIG. 2B, where thereel symbols 201-204 that correspond to CA sites in the alive state arere-spun while reel symbols with a corresponding dead CA remainunchanged.

In another variation shown in FIG. 3A, reel symbols in the alive stateare “collapsed,” causing the symbols above them (or adjacent to them, orotherwise affiliated with them) to fall into their place while reelsymbols with a corresponding dead CA state remain unchanged. Resultingempty locations are filled in with symbols falling into the reel areafrom above, as represented by symbol locations 301-304. In yet anotherof these variations which is shown in FIG. 3B, reel symbols thatcorrespond to CA sites in the alive state are evaluated as a subset ofthe original symbol set. The appearance of certain symbol combinationswithin this subset can result in payouts. Thus, in FIG. 3B, this maymean that pattern formed by locations 201-204 may form a payline, evenif the locations 201-204 are discontinuous. In such a case, if acombination of symbols resides in the alive locations, the same payoutmay be available as if, for example, the same combination had beenarranged on a traditional payline.

Yet another variation is shown by way of example in FIGS. 4A-4B. In theinitial state, before any determination of alive or dead sites is made,all reel symbol edges are considered to be non-colored. When the initialalive states are determined (e.g., as represented by locations 121-124in FIG. 1B), reel symbol edges of the symbols in the alive state arecolored, indicated in FIG. 4A by way of hatching at the edges of thesymbol locations. In FIG. 4A, the locations 201-204 have next beendetermined to be alive, and so those locations 201-204 also have colorededges, as well as having a darker outline to indicate a current “alive”state. In FIG. 4B, one more time step has progressed, with additionalshading indicating newer locations that have been set to the alive statethereby coloring the borders of the symbol locations. At the end of thesome predetermined time or event (e.g., some number of time steps, somepredetermined activity pattern, etc.) if a certain number (perhaps allbut not limited to all) or configuration of the symbol edges have beencolored during repeated applications of the previous steps, a pay orbonus event occurs. This evaluation could also occur at any time duringthe evolution of the CA.

The diagrams of FIGS. 4A-4B also illustrate another variation accordingto an embodiment of the invention. At the upper right of each locationis a circle with a counter indicating the number of time steps in whichthe corresponding CA site has been set to the alive state during thesequence represented by FIGS. 1B, 4A, and 4B. Additional counters (notshown) may similarly determine how many time steps in which eachlocation/site has been in the dead state. At some predetermined time orevent the state counters are evaluated and a payout evaluated. Payoutscould be triggered by certain counts being reached, combinations ofcounts, or any mathematic relationship or distribution of counts. Thisevaluation may also occur at any time during the evolution of the CA.

Note that the rules for ending the previous examples do not have to belimited to the absence of any alive CA sites. Other end conditions couldinclude reaching a predetermined maximum number of evaluations, e.g., apredetermined, fixed amount and/or some number of steps that are paidfor via wagering. Another possible end condition could be the detectionof a cycle in the CA states. These and/or other desired end conditionsmay be implemented, either alone or in combination. Furthermore, thedetection of a cycle may result in the random addition of an alive/deadCA site to disrupt/excite the cycle or any other corrective measure. Itshould also be noted that in this and other examples, more than one timestep may be applied between reel evaluations and/or payout opportunities(e.g., every other time step, every third time step, random time steps,etc.).

In reference now to FIG. 5, a block diagram illustrates another exampleof the rule-based symbol generation in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, a 5×5 grid is presentsslot game symbols. Cellular automata rules are used to propagate “wild”symbols during a bonus event. While the invention is equally applicableto main/primary gaming activities, it is used in the context of asecondary or “bonus” event in this example. In this embodiment, the CAmodel includes a lattice of cells, which in this case are symbols ordisplay segments of the grid, where each of the symbols/segments is inone of a finite set of states. Each cell has a neighborhood, which isthe set of one or more surrounding cells which can influence its state.At each time step (e.g., successive step dictated by the rules), thestate of each cell is computed according to the rule which takes intoaccount the state of the cell and the state of its neighbors.

In this exemplary game, a bonus is triggered when a predetermined symbol(e.g., a red seven in this example) lands in one location on each of thefive reels. When this occurs, the reels may first be evaluated normallyfor payouts, and then red sevens (or other predetermined symbols) igniteon the display. In one embodiment, a multi-layer display is implementedwhere the sevens effect some animation such as appearing to ignite onthe top screen as an overlay image. The ignited sevens cause neighboringsymbol locations to ignite on the screen (or perhaps a front screen in amulti-screen environment) following a CA rule set. At each time step,the ignited symbols are treated as a wild symbols, and the reels areevaluated (which may involve payouts at each evaluation, or at less thanall of the reel evaluation periods). In one embodiment this processcontinues until: 1) a time step results in no ignited locations; 2) acycle is detected in the pattern of ignited locations; or 3) X number ofspins occurs.

As seen in a first screen 501 in FIG. 5, the special symbols (sevens)each land in a particular location on each of the five reels, such as atleast one special symbol on each vertical reel. When this occurs, thereels may optionally be evaluated normally for payouts, and then thesevens appear to ignite on the screen 501, represented here by bordershading of the symbol location. The ignited sevens cause neighboringsymbol locations to ignite on the screen following a CA rule set, asseen in the next time step represented by screen 502. The processrepeats for time steps as seen in screens 503-506. At each time step501-506, the ignited symbols may be treated as a wild symbols, and thereels are evaluated. This may involve determining payouts at eachevaluation, or determining payouts at less than all of the reelevaluation periods.

Another example sequence according to an embodiment of the invention isshown in screens 601-603 of FIG. 6. In this example, the ignited symbolsin screen 601 are spread out enough such that the CA sites die out inonly two time steps, with the possible exception of symbol locations604-607. Assuming that the CA rules in this example set a cell alive iftwo neighboring cells are alive, and make no other provision forcorners/edges (e.g., a dead corner cell changes to the alive state basedon the same number of adjacent cells being alive as is used forinterior/edge cells), the sequence of state changes in locations 604-607seen in screens 601 and 602 could repeat indefinitely if left unchecked.If this is detected, the locations 604-607 may all be set to the deadstate as seen in the final screen 603.

In reference now to FIG. 7, screens 701-706 illustrate another examplewhere predetermined symbols are initially presented in differentlocations to trigger the bonus according to an example embodiment of theinvention. In this example, the arrangement of sevens along the diagonalin screen 701 may coincide with a pay line, thereby resulting in apayout. This may also trigger activation of additional alive symbols forthe CA simulation, such as indicated by the graphic 708 in screen 702which results in the additional shaded symbol 710 as seen in screen 703.Thereafter, the CA rules may play out over time steps such as seen inscreens 704-706. The sequence may include a final screen (not shown)where no symbols are shaded, thereby terminating the sequence.

In reference now to FIGS. 8-9, screens 801-806 and 901-905 illustrateanother example where a predetermined symbol (or symbols) are initiallypresented in different locations to trigger the bonus according to anexample embodiment of the invention. The screen 901 of FIG. 9 continuesthe sequence from screen 806 of FIG. 8. In these examples, even thoughthe resulting patterns may appear to be somewhat random to the casualobserver, the illustrated sequences may be deterministic and repeatable.The various embodiments need not be limited to deterministic, non-randomCA rules however. For example, random variations may be introduced intothe CA algorithms that cause the outcomes to vary (e.g., in somestatistically predictable manner) given the same initial conditions.

Traditional slot games may change reel symbols through the use of anindependent agent which traverses the reel grid and makes changesindependently of the state of the reels themselves. Such an agent mayaffect the reel space according to a movement algorithm that uses arandom number generator. In embodiments of the present invention, the CArule applied to the state of the reel positions and the states of theirneighbors determines the subsequent states at each step. Thus,embodiments of the present invention may use state rules, notrandom-driven algorithms to determine changes to the reel set. In such acase, the events that change symbols need not be guided at every step bythe application of an algorithm that uses a random number generator.Games such as slot games in accordance with the present invention mayexhibit a behavior that is driven by a non-random mathematic principle,even though the initial states of such behaviors may still be randomlydetermined.

It should be noted that the principles described in regards to theillustrated embodiments are applicable to grids of varying sizes and/orshapes. Further, the described embodiments may utilize any number of CArule sets, and/or be applicable to CA systems with more than two states(e.g., not only alive/dead, but also others such as red/blue/green;cold/cool/warm/hot, etc.). Some possible variations according toembodiments of the invention are illustrated in FIGS. 10A-B.

In FIG. 10A, a 3×3 grid 1001 is at an initial state, e.g., the randomportion of play has resulted in the illustrated arrangement of symbols,in response to which payouts may be determined. For the CA portion ofthe game (which may be part of the main game and/or a bonus event) eachsymbol location/cell is then divided into four segments, indicated hereby dashed lines. Each of these quarter segments is treated as a CA site,with shading indicating those sites in an “alive” state. Every symbolmay have at least some portion of its containing cell/site being in analive state. In this embodiment, each symbol has a specific pattern ofCA sites associated with its containing cell/site. For example, thesingle “bar” symbols all have the lower left quarter of the symbollocation rectangle in the alive state, with the other three quarters ofthe symbol location being in the dead state.

Screen 1002 shows a progression of one time step, which may utilize CArules similar to those previously discussed. When all quarters of asymbol location are in the alive state, such as shown for location 1004,then some event may occur such as described above. For example, thelocation 1004 may be changed to a wild symbol. In such a case, when thesequence has come to an end, the grid may be reevaluated for payoutsusing any and all newly added wild symbols that result from the CAsequence.

In FIG. 10B, a 3×3 grid 1011 is at an initial state, e.g., the randomportion of play has resulted in the illustrated arrangement of symbols,after which payouts are determined. For the CA portion of the game(which may be part of the main game and/or a bonus event) each symbollocation/cell may take on one of two colors. A first color is associatedwith the “seven” symbol, and a second color is associated with thecherry symbol. Both of these colors may indicate CA cells that arealive, however may be evaluated independently of other colored cells.

For example, each cell may determine separately whether it is in thealive state with regards to each different color. In such a case, aneighboring cell of the first color may be considered as “dead” whenevaluating whether a cell is alive for the second color, and vice versa.If the evaluation determines that the cell is alive for both colors,then it could be set to one of the colors by default. In this example,cells 1014 and 1016 each neighbor two cells of each color, and in thiscase the second color is always chosen when there is a tie, as seen inscreen 1012. In other variations, the cell could be considered dead ifit is alive for both colors, the winning color could be randomly chosen,etc. In yet other variations, a neighboring cell of the first color maybe considered as “alive” when evaluating whether a cell is alive for thesecond color, and vice versa. In such a case, other rules may beintroduced to determine what color the cell should take if it isadjacent to at least two cells of two different colors.

The present invention may be used in connection with slot machines,computing devices and/or other gaming devices. In reference now to FIG.11, a block diagram illustrates a representative embodiment of acasino-style gaming device in which the principles of the presentinvention may be applied. For purposes of explanation, the descriptionof the gaming device is FIG. 11 is provided in terms of a kiosk or “slotmachine” 1100. However, the present invention is analogously applicableto other computer-based systems.

The illustrated gaming machine 1100 includes a computing system (notshown) to carry out operations according to the invention. Theillustrated gaming machine 1100 includes a display 1102, and a userinterface 1104, although some or all of the user interface may beprovided via the display 1102 in touch screen embodiments. The userinterface 1104 allows the user to control and engage in play of thegaming machine 1100. The particular user interface mechanisms associatedwith user interface 1104 is dependent on the type of gaming machine. Forexample, the user interface 1104 may include one or more buttons,switches, joysticks, levers, pull-down handles, trackballs,voice-activated input, or any other user input system or mechanism thatallows the user to play the particular gaming activity.

The user interface 1104 may allow the user to enter coins, bills, orotherwise obtain credits through vouchers, tokens, credit cards,tickets, etc. Various mechanisms for entering such vouchers, tokens,credit cards, coins, tickets, etc. are known in the art. For example,coin/token input mechanisms, card readers, credit card readers, smartcard readers, punch card readers, and other mechanisms may be used toenter wagers. It is through the user interface 1104 that the user caninitiate and engage in a gaming activity in accordance with theinvention. For example, the user can use the user interface 1104 tooperate the gaming device and make gaming decisions (e.g., bet max, betspecial payout, etc.) that will otherwise make the user eligible for afeature in accordance with the invention. While the illustratedembodiment depicts various buttons for the user interface 1104, itshould be recognized that a wide variety of user interface options areavailable for use in connection with the present invention, includingpressing buttons, touching a segment of a touch-screen, entering text,entering voice commands, or other known user entry methodology. Theembodiments described herein are not dependent on any particular userinterface mechanism.

The display device 1102 may include one or more of an electronicdisplay, a mechanical display, and fixed display information such asinformation such as paytable information associated with a glass/plasticpanel 1108 on the gaming machine 1100.

The winning symbol combinations and/or other indicia associated with theplay of the game may be presented via mechanical and/or electronicdisplay mechanisms, as depicted in the gaming area 1110.

A display segment or panel 1114 may also be provided to displayinformation such as the accumulated credits, current bet amount such as“10” credits per payline (where credits may represent, for example,coins, tokens, dollars, etc.), the number of paylines played, thespecial wager (if any) to be eligible for participation in the inventivefeatures, total bet, the number of credits paid out or “won” on aparticular play, etc. A wager acceptor 1116 is operative to receivewager tokens, coins, bills, credit/debit cards, coupons, smart cards,prepaid casino cards, electronic fund transfer (EFT), tickets, and thelike.

As may now be readily understood, the device 1100 of FIG. 11 may beprogrammed to play various embodiments of the invention. The presentinvention may be implemented as a casino gaming machine such as a slotmachine or other special purpose gaming kiosk as described in FIG. 11,or may be implemented via computing systems operating under thedirection of local gaming software, and/or remotely-provided softwaresuch as provided by an application service provider (ASP). The casinogaming machines utilize computing systems to control and manage thegaming activity. An example of a representative computing system capableof carrying out operations in accordance with the invention isillustrated in FIG. 12.

Hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof may be used toperform the various gaming functions, display presentations andoperations described herein. The functional modules used in connectionwith the invention may reside in a gaming machine as described, or mayalternatively reside on a stand-alone or networked computingdevice/system. The computing structure 1200 of FIG. 12 is an exemplarycomputing structure that can be used in connection with such electronicgaming machines, computers, or other computer-implemented devices tocarry out operations of the present invention.

The example computing arrangement 1200 suitable for performing thegaming functions in accordance with the present invention typicallyincludes a central processor (CPU) 1202 coupled to random access memory(RAM) 1204 and some variation of read-only memory (ROM) 1206. The ROM1206 may also represent other types of computer readable storage mediato store programs, such as programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM(EPROM), etc. The processor 1202 may communicate with other internal andexternal components through input/output (I/O) circuitry 1208 andbussing 1210, to provide control signals, communication signals, and thelike.

Chance-based gaming systems such as slot machines, in which the presentinvention is applicable, are governed by random numbers and processors.A display device 1211 is used to display the gaming activity asfacilitated by one or more random number generators (RNG). RNGs arewell-known in the art, and may be implemented using hardware, softwareoperable in connection with the processor 1202, or some combination ofhardware and software. The present invention is operable using any knownRNG, and may be integrally programmed as part of the processor 1202operation, or alternatively may be a separate RNG controller 1240.

The computing arrangement 1200 may also include one or more data storagedevices, including hard and floppy disk drives 1212, CD-ROM drives 1214,and other hardware capable of reading and/or storing information such asDVD, FLASH drives, etc. In one embodiment, software for carrying out theoperations in accordance with the present invention may be stored anddistributed on a CD-ROM 1216, diskette 1218, DVD, FLASH device or otherform of computer readable storage media capable of portably storinginformation. These storage media may be inserted into, and read by,devices such as the CD-ROM drive 1214, the disk drive 1212, etc. Thesoftware may also be transmitted to the computing arrangement 1200 viadata signals, such as being downloaded electronically via a network,such as the Internet. Further, as previously described, the software forcarrying out the functions associated with the present invention mayalternatively be stored in internal memory/storage of the computingdevice 1200, such as in the ROM 1206.

The computing arrangement 1200 is coupled to the display 1211, whichrepresents a display on which the gaming activities in accordance withthe invention may be presented. The display 1211 may be any type ofknown display or presentation screen, such as LCD displays, plasmadisplay, cathode ray tubes (CRT), etc. Where the computing device 1200represents a stand-alone or networked computer, the display 1211 mayrepresent a standard computer terminal or display capable of displayingmultiple windows, frames, etc. Where the computing device is embeddedwithin an electronic gaming machine (see FIG. 11), the display 1211corresponds to the display screen of the gaming machine/kiosk. A userinput interface 1222 such as a mouse, keyboard/keypad, microphone, touchpad, trackball, joystick, touch screen, voice-recognition system, etc.may be provided.

The computing arrangement 1200 may be connected to other computingdevices or gaming machines, such as via a network. The computingarrangement 1200 may be connected to a network server 1228 in anintranet or local network configuration. The computer may further bepart of a larger network configuration as in a global area network (GAN)such as the Internet. In such a case, the computer accesses one or moreweb servers 1230 via the network/Internet 1232.

Other components directed to gaming machine implementations includemanners of gaming participant payment, and gaming machine payout. Forexample, a gaming machine including the computing arrangement 1200 mayalso include a hopper controller 1242 to determine the amount of payoutto be provided to the participant. The hopper controller may beintegrally implemented with the processor 1202, or alternatively as aseparate hopper controller 1242. A hopper 1244 may also be provided ingaming machine embodiments, where the hopper serves as the mechanismholding the coins/tokens of the machine. The wager input module 1246represents any mechanism for accepting coins, tokens, coupons, bills,electronic fund transfer (EFT), tickets, credit cards, smart cards,membership cards, etc., for which a participant inputs a wager amount.

Additionally, the computing arrangement 1200 may include a transmitter(TX) 1250, and may include a receiver (RX) 1252. These TX 1250 and RX1252 components may be discrete components, or aggregated such as in thecase of a transceiver. The receiver function provided by the RX 1252 canbe configured to receive information from any type of network, such as alocal area network (LAN), wireless LAN (e.g., 802.11a/b/g), wirednetwork (e.g., Internet), wireless network (e.g., Global System forMobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service (GSM/GPRS), proximitynetworks (e.g., Bluetooth, peer-to-peer networks), and/or otherwired/wireless network technologies. For example, the RX 1252 mayreceive server-based information via the web server 1230, server 1228,etc. Information such as wager information or other data used by aserver to establish or adjust the winning amounts can be provided to theappropriate server 1228, 1230 or other device or network entity via theTX 1250.

Among other functions, the computing arrangement 1200 provides aninteractive experience to players via input interface 1222 and outputdevices, such as the display 1211, speaker 1229, etc. These experiencesare generally controlled by gaming software 1234 that controls a primarygaming activity of the computing arrangement 1200. The gaming software1234 may be temporarily loaded into RAM 1204, and may be stored locallyusing any combination of ROM 1206, drives 1212, or media player 1214.The primary gaming software 1234 may also be accessed remotely, such asvia the server 1228 or the Internet 1232. The processor(s) 1202 and/orother circuitry may be used, either alone or via software 1234, toexecute rule sets, such as a CA rule set, in order to perform functionsin accordance with the present invention. It should also be recognizedthat the computing arrangement 1200 of FIG. 12 may be implemented in agaming apparatus, or in a server or other network entity that determinesand provides functionality in accordance with the invention.

In reference now to FIG. 13, a flowchart illustrates a procedureaccording to an example embodiment of the invention. Symbols arerandomly arranged 1302 on a gaming machine. The random arrangementrepresents initial states of the symbols for purposes of applying acellular automata rule. The cellular automata rule is then applied 1304to the symbols. The cellular automata rule changes each of the symbolsto a subsequent state independently of a value of the symbols. Thesubsequent state of each symbol may be based at least on a) the initialstate of each symbol and b) the initial state of another of the symbols.A payout condition is evaluated 1306 based on the subsequent states ofthe symbols. If the condition indicates 1308 a payout, then a payout isprovided 1310.

In reference now to FIG. 14, a flowchart illustrates a procedureaccording to another example embodiment of the invention. A randomarrangement of symbols is rendered 1402 on a gaming machine. At a firsttime step, an active state is assigned 1404 to a subset of the symbolsand an inactive state to all others of the symbols. A first loop 1406 isiterated for each of a plurality of additional time steps, and a secondloop 1408 is iterated for each symbol. For each symbol, it is determined1410 whether to set the symbol to the active or inactive state for thecurrent time step. This determination may be based on a) the state ofthe symbol at the previous time step, and b) the state of neighbors ofthe symbol at the previous time step.

After all symbols have been considered, loop 1408 terminates and it isdetermined 1412 if a payout is to be considered at this time step. Ifso, a payout evaluation is performed 1414 based on the states of thesymbols. The evaluation will be performed 1414 for at least one of thetime steps. Whether or not a payout is considered, it is next determined1416 whether the collective states of the symbols results in aterminating condition. If the terminating condition is detected, thedetermination 1410 is no longer applied as indicated by terminatingblock 1418. If the terminating condition is not detected, loop 1406continues for another time step.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment of the inventionhas been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. Itis not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to theprecise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possiblein light of the above teaching. For example, the present invention isequally applicable in electronic or mechanical gaming machines.

1. A method comprising: causing a random arrangement of symbols to berendered via a gaming apparatus; at a first time step, assigning anactive state to a subset of the symbols and an inactive state to othersof the symbols; for one or more additional time steps, performing foreach symbol: a) determining whether to set the symbol to the active orinactive state for the additional time step via a rule that is basedon 1) a state of the symbol at a previous time step, and 2) a state ofneighbors of the symbol at the previous time step, wherein the state ofthe symbol and the state of the neighbors are selected from the activeand inactive states; b) determining if the collective states of thesymbols results in a terminating condition; and c) if the terminatingcondition is detected, ceasing to apply the rule for additional timesteps; and performing a payout evaluation based on the states of thesymbols for at least one of the first and additional time steps.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein performing the payout evaluation compriseschanging any symbols in the active state to wild symbols.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein performing the payout evaluation comprises randomlygenerating new symbols to replace any symbols in the active state. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the terminating condition comprises oneor more of a) determining that all of the symbols are at the inactivestate; and b) detecting an infinitely repeating sequence of the statesfor at least a portion of the symbols and a portion of the time steps.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the active state is assigned to asubset of the symbols based on a value of the symbols.
 6. Anon-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructionsthat are executable by a processor to cause an apparatus to perform themethod of claim
 1. 7. A gaming apparatus comprising: a processor andmemory storing instructions that are executable by a processor to causethe gaming apparatus to perform the method of claim
 1. 8. A methodcomprising: causing a random arrangement of symbols of a gaming machine,wherein the random arrangement represents a initial state of the symbolsfor purposes of applying a cellular automata rule; applying the cellularautomata rule to the symbols, wherein the cellular automata rule changesthe symbols to at least one subsequent state independently of a value ofthe symbols; evaluating a payout condition based on the subsequent stateof the symbols; and conditionally providing a payout based on the payoutcondition.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the cellular automata rulecomprises a deterministic rule.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein thestates of the symbols comprise binary states.
 11. The method of claim10, wherein the cellular automata rule changes each of the symbols tothe subsequent state based on a) the initial state of each symbol and b)the initial state of at least one neighboring symbol.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the binary states comprise alive states and deadstates; and wherein, in the initial state, particular symbols are set tothe alive state; and wherein the cellular automata rule changes each ofthe symbols to the subsequent state as follows: if the symbol iscurrently in the alive state and a first number range of neighboringsymbols are in the alive state, the symbol remains in the alive state,otherwise the symbol changes to the dead state; and if the symbol iscurrently in the dead state and a second number range of neighboringsymbols are in the alive state, the symbol changes to the alive state,otherwise the symbol remains in the dead state.
 13. The method of claim10, wherein evaluating the payout condition comprises changing to a wildsymbol any symbols in the subsequent states that correspond to aselected one of the binary states.
 14. The method of claim 10, whereinevaluating the payout condition comprises randomly generating a newsymbol to replace any symbols in the subsequent states that correspondto a selected one of the binary states.
 15. The method of claim 8,wherein the cellular automata rule changes each of the symbols to thesubsequent state based on a) the initial state of each symbol and b) theinitial state of at least one neighboring symbol.
 16. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the subsequent state comprises a plurality ofsequentially evaluated states, wherein the cellular automata rule causesthe symbols to change respective state for each of the time steps basedon a) a previous state of each symbol and b) a previous state of anotherof the symbols.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the sequentiallyevaluated states are evaluated until at least one of the followingoccurs: a) all of the symbols are at a same state; and b) an infinitelyrepeating sequence of states is detected for at least a portion of thesymbols.
 18. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storinginstructions that are executable by a processor to cause an apparatus toperform the method of claim
 8. 19. A gaming apparatus comprising: aprocessor; and memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memorystores instructions operable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:cause a random arrangement of symbols rendered via the gaming apparatus,wherein the random arrangement represents initial states of the symbolsfor purposes of applying a cellular automata rule; apply the cellularautomata rule to the symbols, wherein the cellular automata rule changesthe symbols to at least one subsequent state independently of a value ofthe symbols; evaluate a payout condition based on the subsequent stateof the symbols; and conditionally provide a payout based on the payoutcondition.
 20. The gaming apparatus of claim 19, wherein the cellularautomata rule comprises a deterministic rule.
 21. The gaming apparatusof claim 19, wherein the states of the symbols comprise binary states.22. The gaming apparatus of claim 21, wherein the cellular automata rulechanges each of the symbols to the subsequent state based on a) theinitial state of each symbol and b) the initial state of at least oneneighboring symbols.
 23. The gaming apparatus of claim 22, wherein thebinary states comprise alive states and dead states; and wherein, in theinitial state, particular symbols are set to the alive state; andwherein the cellular automata rule changes each of the symbols to thesubsequent state as follows: if the symbol is currently in the alivestate and a first number range of neighboring symbols are in the alivestate, the symbol remains in the alive state, otherwise the symbolchanges to the dead state; otherwise if the symbol is currently in thedead state and a second number range of neighboring symbols are in thealive state, the symbol changes to the alive state, otherwise the symbolremains in the dead state.
 24. The gaming apparatus of claim 21, whereinevaluating the payout condition comprises changing to a wild symbol anysymbols in the subsequent states that correspond to a selected one ofthe binary states.
 25. The gaming apparatus of claim 21, whereinevaluating the payout condition comprises generating a new symbol toreplace any symbols in the subsequent states that correspond to aselected one of the binary states.
 26. The gaming apparatus of claim 19,wherein the cellular automata rule changes each of the symbols to thesubsequent state based on a) the initial state of each symbol and b) theinitial state of at least one neighboring symbol.
 27. The gamingapparatus of claim 19, wherein the subsequent state comprises aplurality of sequentially evaluated states, wherein the cellularautomata rule causes the symbols to change respective state for each ofthe time steps based on a) a previous state of each symbol and b) aprevious state of another of the symbols.
 28. The gaming apparatus ofclaim 27, wherein the sequentially evaluated states are evaluated untilat least one of the following occurs: a) all of the symbols are at asame state; and b) an infinitely repeating sequence of states isdetected for at least a portion of the symbols.